Albert Einstein ‘I have long been an adherent to the cause [vegetarianism] in principle. Besides agreeing with the aims of vegetarianism for aesthetic and moral reasons, it is my view that a vegetarian manner of… More

The whole gender gap issue is nothing new, and while you may feel it has been spoken, protested, and ranted about till the Earth’s end, until it’s closed, I don’t think we should stop talking about.

On Friday I attended a conference at the UEA, in which I took part in three classes (on poetry, Shakespeare and Hitler in modern comedies). While every one of these were absolutely brilliant, every one of these were also taught by a man. Now obviously if the expert in the subject field is a man, then gender should 100% not be an issue, but when in 2014, across the UK 22% of professors were female, there clearly IS an issue. While this is an improvement from the 15% in 2003, it still means less than 1 in 4 students are going to be taught by men. However, 1/3 of senior academic staff (excluding professors) are women – so why aren’t we getting those top jobs?! Until more students are seeing intelligent, respected, strong women giving those lectures, chances are they’re not going to feel as encouraged to want to become one themselves.

Contradictory to this, there has actually been a rise in women going to University compared to men, and across the board females are generally out performing their male counterparts.

UK 2015 more women then men in 2/3rds in University courses

Women 35% more likely to go to University

2013 20 institutions where there are twice as many female full time undergraduates then there are males

One of my theories is that males are so used to having the upper hand, the majority feel high education is not as necessary for them. But when it’s only been since 1947 that women across every university in the U.K. has been ‘allowed’ to earn a full degree, perhaps we’re not taking out educational rights for granted.

It also got me thinking about my own schools – at my local primary school, every single teacher bar one is a women, and that one man? He’s the head, the highest held figure with the most authority in that building. To me, this is a clear sign that women are still taking the more ‘nurturing’ role, and that as students get older, it’s thought they need a more ‘firm’ hand (hence why there’s more men in High Schools/Colleges).

In addition to this, in 2012, 64% of the lowest paid workers were women. Taking into consideration that 76.5% of single parent households were headed by mothers, you can image that those who fall under both those brackets are going to be finding it pretty hard to provide for not just themselves, but their children. And the chances of those then going into universities? Students from private schools are still two and a half times more likely to attend a leading university than those from state schools.

Obviously this is just a tiny part of the gender gap issue, and I’m sure people could hunt out plenty of counter arguments but you can’t really deny the facts above in black and white. And I hope that you’re encouraged to take a wider look at who’s around you and in what positions, so we can work towards a more equal society with equal opportunities for all.

Sources:
(and I would definitely check these out to broaden your knowledges)

‘Posh’ Shirts – men are notoriously bad at choosing their own clothes, so simplying buying stuff for them is the best way to give them push in the right direction. My favourite are from FatFace (around £40) and NEXT (around £25)

Sweet Treats – at under a tenner, this company has tonnes of different sweets to choose from all in a cute bottle container.

Marmite Popcorn – if he falls into the ‘love’ side of Marmite, get him something a bit more special like this popcorn, chocolate bar, or even a personalised maritime jar.

Drink – if you find out what his favourite drink is, then chances are they’ll be a set to go with it, but there are generic gifts, such as this 5 can beer set at a very reasonable £20. And if alcohol isn’t their thing, try this ginger beer, or even make your own for an equally delicious beverage.

BBQ – on the slightly more expensive end, BBQ’s are a great present if you know it’s something he’s been yearning over for a while now. With not many mouths to feed, these smaller ones are perfect and only £24.99, or you can go all out with an absolute beast of a BBQ, like this.

Mug – easy and simple, this old classic is always a reliable option for when you’re really running last minute. In the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, pretty much all supermarkets, shops and even card factories will have enough mugs to last a life time.

Returning for a second year, the Shena Louise organised amother event which bought together tonnes of vegan food stalls, beauty products, charity stalls, animal welfare, clothes and more as well as hundreds of people to enjoy it.

Debs pantry – I tried the carrot cake and sticky toffee, the latter of which was delicious with chunks of date and a toffee glaze. Munchy seeds – available in many shops all over the country and in 8 flavours – honey, chilli, omega (think soy sauce), sesame, choccy apricot, super berry, savoury crunch and choccy ginger. These are great to eat on their own, in smoothies, cereal, salads, pasta, and my favourite way; with yogurt and frozen berries. Rude veganz clothing

Biscotti – definitely serve with a coffee or tea as they are pretty hard on their own.

Food cycle – giving advice for making the most out of your food ‘waste’, cheap recipe ideas and they even made a delicious vegetable curry. Naked greenz – wheat grassBoudicca brewery – vegan Norfolk ale
My mother and I followed the fayre with a lovely walk around the city in the sun, stumbling across a little unique gift shop, and finishing in the new gelato shop. I had the dairy free strawberry sorbet, which I have to say was amazing, not watery or icy and you could taste the real fruit

The 15th to the 21st is the national Vegetarian week, so I think this is the perfect time to start taking an active interest in your meat intake.

I purposely haven’t titled this the ‘meat free challenge’ or forcing anyone to go vegetarian for the week, but as a start I challenge everyone to think about where your food is from, how it’s been produced, how far it’s come, as well as how nutritious is it for you. These are the three top tips I’d start with to help you.

1) WHERE – only buy free range, local, meat from the butchers.

2) HOW MUCH – instead of making meat the main part of a meal, try out new recipes that focus more on full flavoured beans, lentils, rice, potatoes, and vegetables.
3) WHY – the most common reason people eat meat is because it’s what they’ve been raised with, so try asking your parents/ siblings/flatmates to join you buy limiting your meat to say once a day. And if it’s because ‘vegan food costs so much’ then you just need to look at the price of a tin of beans, and the price of a steak to know that this really shouldn’t be an excuse.
Another of the common myths about vegetarianism is that you ‘eat like no protein’. Again, this is completely inaccurate and you only have to Google meat free sources of protein to find there is an abundance – try things like Quorn, beans, lentils, quinoa, plant based protein powder, soya yogurt, and tofu.

For the best places to eat out vegetarian on this week, check out this great post by Morgan, as well as my local Norwich restaurant reviews.